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(Seeing that I have been continuously updating what was just a regular blog posting – which has long since scrolled off of the front page – and this may continue to grow as a project, I have decided to just make a standard web page version).
Stevia. Planted from seed. It is supposed to be difficult to get to germinate. Will I eventually be sprinkling this in place of sugar? Time shall tell.
At eleven days, the overall size of the seedling (not counting the span of the leaves) is only a little bit bigger. So, a toothpick still massively dwarfs it.
(Interestingly, the size of the seedling is understandable due to the very small size of the seed that it emerges from. A stevia seed looks like a sliver of a rye seed, commonly found in rye bread. It is quite a bit smaller).
Something else that is interesting about a stevia, is (like many other plants) how fast and how much it will grow once it takes off. It will seem to grow only a little for the first two to three weeks because it is busy making roots. Then, the rapid vegetative phase begins and continues until it is at full size in three to four months. This means that it is already getting close to the time that I should transplant this specimen into a much larger container.
(My research now indicates that this rate of growth is actually a best case scenario. It could actually take two to three times that to reach that stage of development).
You can begin harvesting the leaves when it is 8-12 inches tall (you can take a third of them at a time), but it can eventually reach three feet tall and a couple of feet wide. The stems can become woody, as well. So, while this starts off very small, it becomes quite a bit larger.
Off to the right of this plant, I have transplanted another that is currently six days old, but which I will not bother to show until I know that it is going to live. I suspect it to be a stevia from another seed that became buried too deep and had a much harder time of reaching the surface. If it were not so small, then I would be doubting that it was a stevia. It looks pretty sickly.
Whereas, the specimen chronicled to date originally had a very short stem, of maybe about 6 mm (below and above ground, total), this one grew sideways through the soil for about an inch before turning upward and growing another inch, clearing the soil and finally reaching the light for about half of that length before I spotted it within a few hours.
The result is a tired, brittle looking sprout that is leggy with two cotyledons that are stretched so thin that they almost look like short stems. They can probably barely catch any light. The main stem is not green but the leaves still are. It may have grown a little taller within the six days.
As chronicled above, the other sprout took well over a week before it began exhibiting noticeable changes. This one may, or may not, survive but it will probably develop differently due to its rough start.
Day 38. At one week later, I would say that both plants look pretty much the same and not worth posting any picture updates for.
The first one looks almost identical from the last update, except that the two new leaves do seem like they have grown a little taller. It is an attractive, healthy looking plant but it is still too small to really take seriously.
Hopefully, all that is going on with this slow down is that it is still working on its root system. True, we are only a little over five weeks, but, this is not the speed burst that I mentioned earlier – unless, of course, the roots phase never really finished. I am considering that I may not have been watering it enough because I have been leery of the root rot problem. Perhaps, too much so.
Well, I have now started to put that theory to the test. If I am correct, then, one week from now, the pace should start to pick back up.
Day 43. The extra watering seems to be helping, but just a bit. It is still, pretty much, the same deal as Day 38 – except that my favorite AI had been mixing some fertilizer info in with the rest of what I was relying on.
I had been looking for growth from the top, rather than the bottom. The bottom was where it had been taking place, though not really much of it (maybe 1/4″-1/2″). I suppose that the above leaves are also a bit larger and longer. Additional stipules (if that is what they actually are), spaced out, are the giveaway. I had been noticing them, but had not been taking the best pictures from the bottom angles. I am guessing that more root formation is still going on, as well.
The second plant is finally getting the center leaves, between the cotyledons. As expected, a lot about this specimen is slower growing and different – because it, basically, has a developmental disability. For example, the stem is thin and purple – as opposed to being thick and green, as if it is missing something equivalent to human fat cells. Maybe, I should name it Lizzie Velasquez. If it were not for the true leaves, then I would still be suspicious that this is something else. I am now convinced.
Hopefully, once the leaves get big enough (assuming), this sorry little thing will finally be able to start pumping some serious chlorophyll into the rest of it (if that is how it works), the stem will turn green and the whole thing will begin getting healthy and more like a stevia. It would be great to be able to bring it back. I think I might have an undead stevia. That would complicate things.
I should be including pictures of it whenever I post more of the other one. It’s pretty boring.
https://www.bitchute.com/video/HN1zfRETwkNm/
I reduced the watering because Kate’s green was getting too light. It now seems be darkening a bit. The cotyledons had withered away and the first true leaves are still going pale. But, the new pair from last time (I was wrong about it being a single stalk) is now towering the highest and there is another pair forming at the center, giving us a total of eight current leaves. Why all of these leaves are bunched together, growing from the same node, is a mystery. I guess plants are known for tons of variety, based on their environments.
Lizzie, on the other hand, is doing better and looking more like a real stevia should, if you ask me. I still suspect that purple stem to be a sign of less than perfect development, but the way that it is growing its leaves in segments at a distance from each other seems right for this kind of plant. At least compared to some pictures. It is now much taller than Kate. Kate has bigger …leaves, though. 😏
In just five days, the two small new leaves that were in Kate’s center have grown three to four times the size of the other big leaves. I still do not know what the hold up is, for further vertical growth, but, perhaps, once it has accomplished enough of this leaf growth, a thicker stalk is going to start pushing out of the soil (or out of the center). It will have to, I would think. I did not see these big leaves coming.
Meanwhile, Lizzie is doing me proud, as well. She is not only taller than the toothpick, but has reached the top of the two liter bottle that I had cut to use for an intermediary “pot”. Actually, she is now leaning a bit over Kate, so I have used the toothpick as a stake in order to avoid blocking Kate’s light. Perhaps it was not wise to put them this close together.
Lizzie is also developing a new leaf shape to her latest pair. They are starting to acquire regular points along the sides, instead of the simple long ovoid shape that the others have had. There are also tiny buds of the next two leaves between them and it seems as if the newer stem growth is slowly losing its purple color and perhaps beginning to shift to green.
This may be the beginning of the end for Kate. 😔 Shortly after my last update, I became aware that not all was well with her.
All of that foliage finally became a bit too much for that small stem and it leaned over when I gave it a light water spraying. I now have it propped up with a stake, like Lizzie. However, I decided to move both of them further away from each other so that I could also get a look at their underground stem and root development while digging them up.
In my opinion, Lizzie’s underground system was developing faster than Kate’s, but it was a bit hard to tell without exposing and disturbing the roots, too much – which I suspect is not a great idea.
According to my AI gardening guru, this is definitely a growth spurt, but the plant tilting is not necessarily a bad thing. Staking her is still a good idea. However, it does look like my concerns for her slow lack of vertical growth had some merit. Hopefully, she is not done developing down there. Maybe her next growth spurt will be in the stem.
https://www.bitchute.com/video/QRPNqoHlJIOd/
Kate – Day 81. Kate has taken me unawares, as it were. The new stem, mentioned on Day 74, turned out to be a whole new branch which extended sideways, rather than vertically. I have been expecting a thick vertical stem to develop, but it appears that Kate had a better idea for giving herself stability from tipping over. This branch, which grew out to the side, is also lightly touching the soil.
Meanwhile, it formed a new node from which rapidly grew two new leaves, along with a stem which kept going and is now curving up. It also has a bud at the tip.
My guess is that this is not only going to go a long way toward solving the tipping problem, but it is also how many other stevia plants balance their weight.
There is also the possibility (not common with stevia) that this branch is actually a runner (or a “stolon”, maybe) whose purpose is to reproduce by creating an entirely new plant next to the other one. If so, then the node at the end of the runner will also put down adventitious roots where it touches the soil. Once the new leaves and roots are thriving, the internode (the runner) will wither away, resulting in two separate plants. These two could also stabilize each other simply by leaning against the other.
However, if it did put down roots, then it would more likely stay connected to the original as a single plant.
Lizzie – Day 56. Lizzie has been turning almost into a vine. The stem is soft and supple, lately. It needs a stake (I am using a twig) to stay up. But, the leaves are becoming more serrated and mature and more pairs keep developing. They look pretty good.
Also, most of the true leaves have been developing axillary buds at the joints. Apparently, these do not always emerge in a stevia, but, when they do, they grow more slowly than the other leaves. You can make out the tips of what appear to be two leaves on top of each stem at the joint.
I do not know if the first pair of true leaves are getting ready to wither, but it looks like they are also getting the axillary buds. Sometimes, Lizzie’s leaves get an almost sugary looking whitish coating on parts of them which seem to come and go. I do not think that it is a mold or fungus. That seems to be happening there. The original cotyledons appear to have had it and turned yellow.
Stand back. My stevia farm is almost ready to start accepting orders. Kate’s boobs and ass are spilling out everywhere and Lizzie is getting pretty shapely, herself.
I decided to cut off part of the side of the container in order to accommodate Kate’s accelerating growth – which brought it down almost to the level of the soil. I will, no doubt, soon transfer it to a real pot, which is much larger than a 2L bottle. That, or an industrial bucket with about twice the capacity of the pot. The way that this seems to be getting ready to expand, in a few months, I just might actually have a plant resembling the goal that I posted (back around the 22 day mark).
Besides the long branch at the bottom, there are at least three more growths from the center that look like they are going to do the same thing in other directions and there are various other places where little shoots and small leaves seem to be pushing out of the plant. One will soon no longer find it convenient to count stems, leaves and branches. Kate now has physical balance all over – and, yes: the new branch did start putting a root into the soil.
Rather than a single central stem popping out, new stems might be growing from the branches which might be turning up into a vertical direction after the branches grow out some distance away. I suspect that the other plant in the picture, from earlier, developed something like the way that Kate is doing, now. This is going to need room: laterally and vertically – above and below the soil. It is best to make it some, now. Especially, before the roots become too established.
Lizzie’s latest two top leaves have not been growing as fast as the others did. That may have something to do with all of the axillary buds which have been emerging. In most places where she had one leaf in a spot, before, she now has (or will have) three. So, she is busy making leaves all over.
I think that another reason that Lizzie looks so different than Kate is that she lurched ahead and began developing into her more adult stages while she was still small. (For example, axillary buds, themselves, are supposed to be triggered by hormone changes in a plant). If I am right, then, once Kate reaches a certain size, her leaves are going to start looking a lot like how Lizzie looks now – only much bigger – or, maybe in a way that Lizzie will eventually look.
I think that it is also possible for there to be more than one variety of a species within a single plant pack. Except in the case of small scale farms, it is unlikely that adjacent seeds in a pile, waiting to be put into the same pack, were not mixed together from a large number of different stevia plants.
Transplanted Kate into the big pot and let Lizzie stay in the same one, for the time being.
Kate has a lot of new stems, leaves and shoots emerging. Part of one of her big leaves wilted for some reason, before the transplant.
Lizzie’s axillary buds seem to be putting out new pairs between the axillaries in an exponential pattern. Also, the newer stem has pretty much turned green, by now – though, not as green as one of Kate’s.
Kate Day 97. Kate’s main branch has reached the edge of the new pot. Not sure if I should try to redirect it if it decides to start hanging over the edge. There are currently about five other side branches growing out, likewise. Also, new buds and adventitious roots in various places.
Kate will, no doubt, eventually spread all over the surface before growing a bush upwards for two to three feet.
Lizzie Day 72. She’s getting bigger and leafing out everywhere, but needs stakes. Her main stem has gotten quite a bit thicker but is quite supple – hence the stakes. I think she is starting the process of flowering in places where new leaf pairs would be emerging. Stevia flowers are pretty small.
Day 124 (Kate). At this point, additional updates seem unwarranted. I would say that these two plants have, more or less, reached their peaks for the time being.
Kate continues to grow, spreading out branches – some of which are hanging over the rims of its pot. But, other than that, its development does not really look all that different from previous pictures.
Lizzie’s various axillary buds have become not just stems with leaf pairs of their own, but long branches close to the same size as the original single stem which they grew from. They are covered with the yellow clusters which will (hopefully) flower eventually. Lengthwise, the longest stems are about ten inches. I would rather wait, at least, until the flowers pop out before doing another update for this one.
I have to say, though, that I am, once again, doubting Kate’s species. I can find no examples, online, of a stevia which not only grows along the ground but has round leaves. The serrated edges have simply never formed and the leaves are supposed to be long (like Lizzie’s), anyway. I am starting to suspect some possible seed adulteration. It does happen in the industry.
If that turns out to be the case, then I may close Kate’s chapter on this page and continue on with Lizzie – which is obviously an actual stevia, though still kind of small.
I have some theories as to a couple of things that I could have done wrong with Kate which altered her development. (For example: fertilizer). But, I think that only inherent genetic variety can really explain it. I will continue growing it and trying out different things, but it is looking like this must be some other kind of plant and that I may have gotten suckered into buying some kind of weed seeds mixed in with the real thing.
There is one test that I can attempt, but it is risky: Pick off a leaf, dry it out, crush it up and taste it. The plant may or may not be mature enough to produce enough stevioside in its leaves. But, I would imagine that there should be at least some significant sweetness in them if it is really a stevia.
The risk is in if turns out to be some kind of poisonous plant. Hopefully, the worst that happens is that it tastes bad. I have already tried identifying it by image.
If it turns out to be real stevia then I do not care what it looks like. In that case, it would be worth continuing the updates because it is an unusual specimen. I might make cuttings out of the hanging branches (because this thing is definitely good for making leaves, which are the desired product) and that would probably be a good way to propagate a number of new plants.
(Update from the family of Turin…):
“Our loved one, Turin, passed away overnight from the taste test of one of the leaves which he mentioned here. Apparently, it was a deadly plant rather than a stevia, after all. He will be greatly missed by all who knew him. He did much to advance the world’s knowledge of the mysterious stevia plant, which sadly resulted in his making the ultimate sacrifice in the name of science. 😔”
….Just kidding. 😁
While the leaf dried out very quickly (in much less than 24 hours), there was absolutely no sweetness in the “Kate” leaf sample. It was not terrible. But, when you are expecting something pleasant and get something quite different it can seem rather… 🤮. However, I am not in the habit of tasting the leaves of plants.
Therefore, in an effort to make certain that it is not an issue of maturity, I am now performing a similar test on one of the leaves from the “Lizzie” specimen. I should be having results in another 24. If Lizzie turns out to be even a little sweet then this cannot be a stevia.
🤔 I am undecided as to which direction this page should take.
It is only a few hours since my previous update in the preceding paragraphs. I will most likely not be conducting the second taste test. I now know what it is, as well as the other. Neither is a stevia.
I have downloaded a plant identification app.
Boy, have I been had.
Kate is a Creeping Jenny (popular as either an aquarium or garden plant). Lizzie is an “Oak-leaved Goosefoot” (something like spinach – but actually, probably just a fucking weed). 🤪
The seed market would appear to be quite the racket. How the hell did I get all of this shit …from the same packet?
For the time being, I will leave this page up as a cautionary tale for others who make a foray into trying to grow unusual plants (with no experience, like me). I did learn a few things from this activity. Maybe, it will spare others from making mistakes.
I may take it down, though. It is pretty laughable that all of this time I was chronicling an entirely wrong plant, replete with many pictures and my misguided thoughts on the whole thing. I do have the excuse of being a newbie, however.
But, what is even “funnier” (I.e. what pisses me off even more 🤬) is that not only did it turn out that the second sprout was a different species than stevia altogether (and BTW, these Goosefeet things *do* have the purple stems), but both of these adulterated seeds came from the same packet and neither of them matches the label on the outside. So, I have been getting “everything, but”.
Therefore, I ordered and planted a pack of seeds where either the sorting and storage processes at the company in question (Outside Pride) are so atrociously bad that apparently anything that even looks like the right kind of seed gets thrown into a packet with the proper name on it, or else they deliberately select similar but inferior types of seeds for adulteration purposes in order to increase their profits off of the helplessly ignorant customer. One mistake is one thing – even if that mistake had resulted in multiple insertions of the same wrong species …even the entire pack being the same thing. But, “a little bit of this…and a little bit of that…” is hard to credit as an honest boo-boo.
No doubt, this is another reason as to why there is a “live plant” market. You see what you are getting. You need to. U.S. markets are so thoroughly rotted out with corruption, dishonesty and evil that even something that is so symbolically identified as “wholesome” “Americana” will try to rob you blind just because it can, due to the fact that it is operating from the niches. Disgusting.
Even more disgusting is what a powerful argument an experience such as my own makes for having a giant corporation take over a particular sector while putting smaller players out of business.
In a small “family” seed business (I really do not know, in this case. They might just as easily be a large business that is “family owned”, or a large one outsourcing from small companies – where everyone walks around barefoot all day, and half of the inventory is stored in “family” home areas like kitchen cupboards, along with the “family” meals), I would imagine that a “stevia” packet, such as mine, could have been cobbled together out of a number of seed spills, all over the floor, around main supply bins. Maybe, even from a vacuum cleaner bag. After all, “that’s valuable product”!
While the seed packets that might have been sold on a more face to face basis would be filled properly, delivered and received with satisfying results, the packets (such as mine) that were being sold all over the Internet (often to faceless parties who they knew would have a hell of a time tracking anything down) would probably be filled out of a dustpan which contained the mixed up mess from around the previously mentioned bins. …Dustpan contents which should have been thrown the fuck out and written off as a loss, instead of being sold.
And, that is the charitable explanation. This spinach-like plant “just happens” to bear a resemblance to a stevia. I find that to be a tad bit too much of a simple coincidence.
It seems more like a deliberate deception. Even if I had known what I was doing enough to have blown the whistle as soon as I saw how the Creeping Jenny was developing, then I still might have been taken in by the Goosefoot. Again: All of the seeds looked the same in the packet, including the Jenny. So, that was two levels of deception: before and after planting.
There were also plenty of seeds that never sprouted. Those were probably the ones that got stepped on a few dozen times before being swept up for an order. I never did see a stevia – the exotic plant that I was actually paying to grow.
And, as an extra bonus:
“There are other plants that may resemble [Oak-leaved Goosefoot], and some can be poisonous”. (From an independent source)
Yeah. I’ll try cutting my losses by cooking up some of that stevia-aquarium-spinach, stat …because I trust these guys.
Follow Up:
I tried, twice, to contact Outside Pride to try to resolve the original problem, before writing any reviews, and I told them that I was doing this. I contacted them directly at their website. This (large) seller (promoting itself as a “family owned” business) did not give a shit about any good faith overtures. Both of my emails were ignored.
I did not even ask for redress (though I did want some – I would like to have been offered a replacement pack of carefully checked stevia seeds, this time). I was mainly hoping for an explanation for this, because it sucked. I am new at this and it was a disappointment.
I suppose that they know very well what they did. (They are, most likely, adulterating product as an ongoing practice). So, in their eyes, yon uppity customer (you know: the one who PAYS them) can click for his refund if he does not like it …and then, GTFO with his bitching.
I did not like it. So, I wrote it.
No biggie, but complaint registered.
I suppose that part of this misfortune is just the new way of doing business in the IOT marketplace. I am the one who still needs to adjust some things. But, I still cannot blithely ignore the problem that I found with these seeds.
Here is how the Jenny (“Kate”) and the Goosefoot (“Lizzie”) have been doing.
As you can see, the Creeping Jenny is still doing its very un-stevia-like thing. But, it is still an interesting plant, so I would like to see how big it can get. Unlike stevia, it can, in fact, handle the outdoor climate, around here. So, it might be possible to create some attractive outdoor displays with it, down the road.
I do kind of like the Oak-Leaved Goosefoot, as well. This one can also handle the outdoor climate around here, so I am thinking about planting that one outside, too.
I mentioned in my review that it was “prolific”. If you look at the soil bottom inside its container, then you might notice that there are tens of brand new seedlings coming up. These all seem to be less than a week old. The seeds must have all shaken out of the branches when I was moving the plants around. Apparently, there is no pollination required for this species.
In fact, during the move, I briefly had its container resting on the bare patches of soil of the Creeping Jenny’s pot. Apparently, that was enough to shake a few seeds outside of Lizzie’s container, as well as inside. I believe that I am currently counting thirteen new Goosefoot sprouts growing within the Jenny pot, too. I think that they might add a nice touch to it, with all of the flat foliage and hanging branches trailing from the sides, so I will let them grow in there.
When I think about all of the attention that I gave to these two plants in order to get them to reach maturity, as well as how sickly the “Lizzie” plant was when it was first discovered (the new shoots all look much better than Lizzie ever did at that stage – I suspect that they might all become bigger than her), it is interesting, now, to see all of these new sprouts effortlessly coming out of nowhere. Within a couple of months, this small container is going to be busting out like a bush.
Of course, all of that is because it is really a fast spreading weed. The Creeping Jenny is not (well, it is sort of considered invasive), but I am still in a fascination mode from the learning experience of all of this. So, I will continue to study how far it can go. If a lot of these grow enough to produce enough worthwhile leaves, then I just might try to cook up some of that “spinach”. I mean, then this weed could actually be something useful – if it tastes good, anyway.
Apparently, it goes well with Asian dishes and other things, but you have to boil it, first, to reduce the saponins. I think that it is supposed to be fairly nutritious, too – unlike Stevia, which is very good tasting but has zero actual nutritional value (not even sugar energy).
Kate continues to spread out like a curtain. In the back, as well.
New Oak-leaved Goosefoot crop. Day 54 (estimate). These are most of the children of my poor Lizzie (who passed away some time ago), from the big pot that they share with Kate. The oak-leaved goosefoot is an annual, so once it makes seeds it is pretty much done. RIP Lizzie.
The seeds that grew in the pot have done the best. The group in the plastic 2L bottle have done significantly worse. That is probably due to much more crowding, but I think that they also never got enough sun in the window spot that I had them in for most of the summer. They were receiving mostly ambient light throughout the day and now the days are shortening.
Yesterday, while checking on the two pots, I noticed that most of Kate’s branches were suddenly wilting and hanging very limply. So, I put her pot back under the grow lights again and in about 3-4 hours she had perked back up. I gave her more water, too, but I think that light was the problem.
Lizzie’s children fared much better in the window and I think that the whole arrangement was precariously balanced in favor of one side of the large pot, while the small one was missing out on a lot of the UV. The ones closest to the window grew the largest and quickest, by far. The ones further away grew, almost vine-like, toward that side. They all also developed seeds much faster, this time. But, with about one and a half less hours of sunlight, now, I do not think that ambient light is cutting it, anymore.
Pretty soon, I plan on preparing some of these leaves – as mentioned earlier – and mixing them into some dish. They will probably start wilting soon, if I do not. However, if they turn out to be worth it, then I will take advantage of their amazing fecundity and grow as many as I can, in perpetuity. They should be able to do pretty well in the yard, too, if they are that good.
Tales of Turin 
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